Vince Deagler

as chapter 2 begins, the questions of chapter 1 begin to be replaced with answers.  but it is quickly evident that the inaccuracies of the questions in chapter 1 continue in chapter 2.  this is obvious in the fact that most of chapter 2 is an argument against a picture that was on the wall of rob bell’s grandmothers house.  according to rob, this picture represents the traditional evangelical view, and is wrong because it results in our thinking that heaven is somewhere else.  then he goes into what will it be like?  he answers with what he suggests is the common cultural understanding of clouds, harps, an eternal church service of sorts.  most evangelicals i know don’t think that.  in fact in many respects, i’m not sure if there is a big difference between his understanding and the majority of evangelicals.  i say that because as he closes chapter 2 he summarizes his thoughts.  he states sometimes heaven refers to a place that exists right now, but it is somewhere else (isn’t that what he thought was wrong with the picture?)  for instance, 2 cor 5 teaches to be absent from the body as a christian is to be in the presence of the lord…heaven.  at other times heaven refers to right here on earth, but at a different time (as in the age to come, what i would understand as the millennial kingdom or the eternal state where there is a new heaven and a new earth).  but these are not sufficient for him, and his 3rd idea is problematic.  he says there is a jesus invitation to heaven here and now, in this moment, in this place.  as someone who is familiar with scripture, i know what he’s getting at.  but it has nothing to do with the subject at hand.  he directly states he is not talking a moral majority, christian reconstructionist theology.  well then, what does he mean?  as a christian, any of us can choose to live a “heaven like ” existence right now.  we can choose god’s rule and god’s will for our lives right here, right now, in this moment, in this place.  we can bring heaven down to earth in heaven like acts.  and that would certainly make the world in which we live better.  would it remove the presence of satan?  what about the brokenness that exists in the world, the cumulative effects of sin, what about that?  in the future, in what i see as the kingdom, or eternal state i know the curse is removed, the earth is restored, god makes all things new.  but that is not here, now, in this moment, or place.  so i’m really not sure why he spends so much time on this if he is trying to define the eventual fate of every person who has ever lived.  he says he is gonna tell us the fate…future of every person who has ever lived.  i have no clue why this 3rd concept was so important to him if that was the question he was trying to answer.

now, having said that, chapter 2 was really quite good in another sense.  he weaves the story of the rich man who came to christ in luke 18 throughout the chapter.  he does a really good job with this story.  in fact, so good, it makes you wonder why he struggled with so many simple questions back in chapter 1.  i mean, this story, if not handled correctly could lead to many wrong conclusions.  for instance, you could gain eternal life by keeping the law.  you could gain eternal life by divesting yourself of your earthly possessions, giving them to the poor, and following jesus.  it is not an easy text, and i think he did a good job with it.  the problem i have is even that story presents the idea that some are going to be “in” and others are going to be “out”.  and it seems he is trying to get away from that conclusion with this book.  he plainly questions that idea.  so what we have is him doing a great job explaining a text that basically disagrees with the ultimate point he is trying to make…i’m not sure why he would do that…but i enjoyed it.

so, the adventure continues.  i’m off to chapter 3, will keep you posted.  if nothing else this book will get us thinking through and talking about what is undoubtedly the single most important question we will ever have to answer.  what will be our fate?  in jesus i have in my possession, right now, eternal life.  and its better than any life available to me apart from jesus.  so, i invite you to join me in this wonderful “jesus story”.